If perishable goods such as grain, salt, tin sheet or packages are transported by barge, foul weather covers need cover the normally open hatches which are permissible in hauling sand, coal and other non-perishables. In the past, expensive and heavy steel hatch covers have been fitted on a statistical number of barges in a fleet for providing perishables capability. However, if a covered hatch barge is not on site, one must be "dead headed" to receive the sensitive cargo.
The expense and inconvenience of such prior art hatch covers has prevented their more universal use. The heavy steel covers need handling by cranes, derricks or other special equipment and require up to four men for placing or removing and they are difficult to store on board and end up in the wrong places when stored ashore. They weigh so much that cargo capacity is reduced by their weight, and fuel transportation cost with barges empty or full is increased. They rust and are contaminated by cargo so that they need be cleaned for new sensitive cargo. Thus, they have a high maintenance cost. Sometimes they introduce sparks when hitting steel barge coaming which is dangerous in many atmospheres such as in flour dust from wheat, and could cause explosions. Furthermore, a barge cannot be loaded in the rain or foul weather with an open hatch.